Immediately to the south-west of the pond walling the drain led to a brick-lined open shaft that was first looked at in 2002 when some of the surviving upper brickwork was exposed. It has since been emptied of infill to its base and the top brickwork repaired and heightened to allow for a platform and a protective grill. (1)

The shaft is built in an irregular egg-shape with, towards its base an inlet on the north-east side and an outlet directly opposite. It is 4.5m deep from the platform level erected around its upper perimeter. The structure is built of late 18th century 2½ inch (63mm) thick brick, laid with the header ends facing inwards. On the south-west side the walling is regular and mainly built from stone, with a lintel over the rectangular-shaped outlet (20 inches or c.0.5m across and high). The inlet opposite is within the brickwork, with an arched top of smaller dimension to the outlet (water in the base of the shaft interfered with its precise measurement. Part way up the south side there is a circular overflow drain, 20 inches (0.5m) across, tightly blocked up with infill material to prevent water loss. (1)

How this feature (first referred to as the plug-hole) worked is unclear. Water flowed into it from the drain by the pond, itself estimated to have been about 1.5m above the level of the shaft inlet.Water was then either allowed to continue on through the outlet, or was forced upwards to gothrough the so-called overflow opening. Some form of shuttering or gate was used along the straight face above the outlet to control the water. No evidence for this survived although part of the upper stonework face was curved backwards to a depth of about 10cm for some associated reason. (1)

Water evidently either passed downhill towards the River Leen and a possible lower leat, or was forced upwards to flow into another watercourse that possibly ran directly across the line of Papplewick Lane to another feature on the opposite side of the road. Here, water may have risen by gravity to a higher level leat in a similar structure. Although no sign of this other parallel feature is currently known its former existence can be safely assumed if such a system was intended. (1)

<1> R. Sheppard, 2007, Recent Investigation and Conservation of Some Historic Structures at Moor Pond Wood, Papplewick, Nottinghamshire (Unpublished document). SNT5698.

<2> Laura Binns, 2017, Report on an Archaeological Audit and an Appraisal of Future Archaeological investigation - Moor Pond Woods - Papplewick (Unpublished document). SNT5693.